Ga'hoolian Legends: Shapeshifter
by Pinefur
Summary: Was Lutta, the shapeshifter created by Kreeth, really killed by Strix Strumajen? What if she was still alive? Well she is! Come on, can anyone really say that Lutta deserved to die? She was awesome!
1. Prologue

**I absolutely hated that Lutta was killed. Because of that I am writing this fanfic. Did anybody else hate that? I mean, Kreeth used the fryngrot(spelling?) on her to make her attack Hoole. It's not Lutta's fault! So that is the main point of this story.  
**

The owl lay on the cold floor. She couldn't remember anything, not even her name, only the face of the other owl that had been taken from her. She felt pain sear through her. _Am I dead?_ But she wasn't. She knew, somehow, that it wasn't true. She would be in Hagsmire if she was truly dead.

_Hagsmire… how do I know that?_ Her thoughts were confused. Another memory came, of a Spotted Owl, she thought. And that owl's talons ripping through her feathers, trying to kill her because of… because of what?

Because she was pretending to be… who? Why? Questions were flooding into her mind. Another Spotted Owl. And… the Tree! The Great Ga'hoole Tree! That's what it was! Hoole was the owl who had been taken away. He thought she wanted the Ember…

And… what was the other's name? Kreeth! It was her fault! She used the fryngrot on her to make her try to kill Hoole, but she didn't want to, no. She had a gizzard now.

The owl felt herself changing suddenly, even without trying. Immediately she was a Great Gray. Her pale feathers glistened as she rose to her talons and stepped slowly outside. Raising her wings, she started to take flight.

Pain burned her wings, and she desperately tried not to go yeep. Water splashed up against her as she soared above the sea. _But it can't hurt me, like a hagsfiend,_ she thought. Memories were washing over her again. _I can become anything. Wait – is that why they all hate me? Who hates me…? The other owl and hagsfiend! And everyone else too…_

She turned by instinct towards a cliff. There was a cave in the side. The owl flew straight at it. She knew what was inside.

The Great Gray narrowed her wide eyes as she lighted inside the cave. Silently she waited. For Kreeth. _Wait…_she thought._ Is Kreeth dead? _

She walked into the cave. There was no sign of life there. A piece of ice was broken on the floor. The owl hesitated, then moved over to it. She could see her reflection in the frozen water. She changed into a Barn Owl, and watched the transformation carefully.

Suddenly the rest of her mind returned. And her name came to her in a heartbeat.

"Lutta."

**If anyone is reading this can you please tell me the names of all of the owls with Hoole when that one (Spotted Owl?) owl killed Lutta because I don't remember any of the names!**


	2. Memories

**Thank you to all the people who gave me names! This chapter is a bit… violent, but only because Lutta wants revenge and she gets mad at Pleek for kind of creating her.**

"No!"

A loud _whoo_ echoed in the cave. Lutta spun around. An owl crouched in a corner, shivering. Its eyes met hers, and they widened in fright.

"Get away!" the bird screeched. "It's not my fault!"

Lutta felt recognition flickering in her mind. "You," she whispered.

The single sound made the owl freeze.

"You," Lutta repeated, this time angrily. "You didn't want me! You thought I was a freak! Like, like…" A name came to her mind. "Ygryk!" She spat the word into the freezing air.

"No!" the owl wailed. "What did you do to her!"

"Nothing," snarled Lutta. Her Barn Owl shape faltered, and a crow shaped creature replaced it. _Hagsfiend_. "I did nothing to her… Pleek."

Pleek whimpered, and Lutta's fury was growing fast. She advanced towards the owl with her talons extended. "It's your fault," she hissed. "You wanted to create me. Kreeth used me to try and kill Hoole. But I couldn't." A single shard of moonlight fell into the cave, and it reflected off the shapeshifter's outstretched claws. "_You_ deserved to be punished. Not me."

The owl screamed as the hagsfiend slashed out. Lutta felt a sense of relief and justification as her talons ripped through feathers to flesh. She hooted as she changed back to a Great Gray, rising into the air as Pleek's blood oozed onto the ground. Beating powerful silvery wings, the shapeshifter swooped out of Kreeth's cave. A cold wind current caught her, and she rode along it, soaring over the sea.

After many wingbeats, Lutta noticed that the air was warmer. She banked to the left and looked down at the water. It was no longer splashing up chilling spray; the few drops that came up were only cool, and not freezing.

Lutta narrowed her eyes as the wind pushed her forward. She hadn't been to the Southern Kingdoms before, and couldn't imagine how it would compare to the Northern Kingdoms.

Suddenly a sharp gust of air blew Lutta out of the current she had been riding. Taken by surprise, she tumbled out of the sky, opening her wings just before hitting the sea. Lutta glanced up. _Racdrops, how will I find that flow again?_ Then her eyes widened.

Ahead was an island. And growing on that was giant tree.

Lutta nearly went yeep. _Glaux, is that what I think it is? No, why would Glaux help _me?

But the tree was real. Lutta flew towards it, wondering what the owls would think of her. For if she was right, there _would_ be owls there.

It was the Great Ga'Hoole tree.

And the last time she was there, she was posing as Emerilla, Strix Strumajen's daughter.

Strix Strumajen.

The owl who had nearly killed her.


	3. Flashback

**Sorry it took so long to update... but here is the next chapter! I'm glad lots of people agree that Lutta shouldn't have been killed! **

**This is a flashback. Lutta is dreaming.**

"_You're not doing it!" Kreeth cursed, and half-hags swarmed around her head._

"_I know! I know!" She whimpered. "I don't know why – I don't understand!"_

_But she did. Why couldn't she just be herself? Why did she have to be a half-creature, shunned by everyone else. Some pent up emotion bubbled up inside of her, making her scream. "I have a gizzard!"_

"_Stop!" Kreeth snarled at her angrily. "You do not have a gizzard, you fool, you idiot! I created you!"_

_She felt her form flickering from one shape to another. "You created me, but I created this gizzard!"_

_For a moment the hagsfiend stared at her. Then – "No!" A wing flashed forward and slammed into the side of her head. She stumbled back, nearly falling off of the peak. The shapeshifter rose painfully into the air, each wingbeat torturous._

"_You don't understand, Kreeth! I feel pain! Real pain!"_

"_It's a phantom gizzard!"_

_Sadness overwhelmed her. "What difference does it make, being phantom or real? It's Hoole. I love him. I love him."_

"_You must _kill_ him!"_

_Yellow light flooded over her senses, making her go yeep. Her wings hung uselessly by her sides as the fyngrot made her fall._

_A soft, yet menacing voice. "Down you go, dearie. Down, down, down. Right here by my talons. Nice soft landing…"_

_The yellow faded, leaving darkness to replace it. The black shattered as she opened her eyes. Her feathers were brown – a Spotted Owl. _So she's done it. Made me Emerilla again. Cast a spell, I suppose. But what am I really?

_Nothing. She was nothing. They all hated her, wanted to destroy her. Even Pleek and Ygryk._

_She stood hesitantly as the battle raged ahead of her. There was Hoole with King H'rath's scimitar; the sight of him fighting made her gizzard twinge._

_Then she churred. She _did_ have a gizzard._

_She spread her wings, flew forward._

_A shriek rang in her ears. "The ember, Lutta! Get the ember, or I will curse you forever!"_

You already do. They all do._ She wheeled around as Kreeth fell from the sky to the dire wolves. _What does it matter? Hoole will never trust me. The _real_ Emerilla is here now.

_Her feathers rustled as she landed. She squeezed between chunks of rotting ice to where Hoole was perched, speaking to another owl. With a jolt of fury, she realized that the bird that the young king was staring at was a Spotted Owl – _Emerilla_! Oh, so he would love Emerilla, but not her?_

_Hoole was talking now."I was concerned that something had happened to you when you came through the Ice Narrows._

_She crept behind him as Emerilla cocked her head to one side, confused. "Ice Narrows? I was never in the Ice Narrows."_

"_But I was."_

_The words were out of her before she could stop them. She flinched as the owls spun around to stare at her. Hoole blinked, uncomprehending. "Emerilla?"_

"_No," she whispered, and changed. Her brown feathers became black, and reluctantly they shaped to fit a crow-like hagsfiend. She skidded across the ice towards Hoole, and accidentally crashed into him. He slipped and hit the melting throne. She gasped and took a step towards him, but then another owl leaped forward and slammed into her side. She hissed in pain._

_The owl was Strix Strumajen._

"_Stop it, you little sneak!" A beak opened, a talon slashed. She felt herself falling, and warm liquid ran from a gash in her side. Pain streaked through her body, and she screamed._

_Hoole opened his eyes._

_She lay still on the ice, surrounded in a pool of red. Her half-hags were dead, like she would soon be…_

"_I had to kill her," Strix Strumajen growled. "She pretended to be my Emerilla. I knew from the start that something was not right about her. A blood deception she was – a hagsfiend!"_

Go to Hagsmire, you pile of racdrops,_ she thought angrily as more blood seeped from her. _After me, of course_…_

_Suddenly something made her raise her voice. "No!"_

_Then Hoole was at her side, and she gazed up at him with wide eyes. "What are you?" he asked._

"_I am nothing, and yet I loved…" She lifted a talon._

_Hoole lurched back. Probably he thought that she wanted the ember. _

"_No Hoole, it is not the ember I wanted," she whispered, and she fell back into red-tinted darkness._**  
**

**So... Review!!!!!  
**


	4. The Great Ga'Hoole Tree

"Owwww…"

The wet shape on the sandy ground shifted painfully and opened two large amber eyes. Damp feathers stuck to the small body, and the wings twitched once.

Realization flickered back into Lutta's mind and she jerked up. Slowly her eyes focused and she stared at the land around her.

The last thing she remembered was seeing the Great Ga'hoole Tree ahead of her, and thinking of Strix Strumajen, the crazy Spotted Owl who had almost killed her. Then a gust of air had knocked her sharply out of the sky, and she had tumbled down, into the water.

So she had been washed up onto this island. And now that tree was _right ahead_ of her, waiting, berries glistening on its branches. The limbs stretched up and up, and small hollows showed where the owls slept until night.

Night. How close was it? Lutta looked up to see bright yellows, reds, oranges and purples. Sunset. Sure enough, the sun was sinking in the sky; one by one the stars began to appear.

A loud _whoo_ sound made Lutta snap back to the island. She glanced up to see numerous shapes swooping from the Tree, and groups of owls were forming. _Great Glaux, I need to hide._ Stiffly she crept forward, to a shelter under some bushes. A mouse scurried away from her as she dragged herself to the hiding spot.

The owl groups all swerved into different directions. Some seemed to be studying the weather, while others went to the roots of the Tree. With a jolt of fear Lutta noticed that some of the birds were hunting for prey, and they were flying dangerously close to her shelter.

Suddenly the mouse that had run from her moved again, slipping through the undergrowth. An owl hooted, swerved after it. Lutta looked through gaps between the branches to see what was happening. Then she saw a glimpse of the owl's face, and she felt like she was going yeep although she wasn't actually flying.

Strix Strumajen.

Lutta cowered back, pressing into the twigs. The Spotted Owl reached for the mouse with sharp talons, and caught the prey. The shapeshifter squeaked in fright.

The owl stiffened, then cocked her head. "Is anyone there?" She peered into the bush shelter.

Lutta covered her face with a wing. She faintly heard Strix Strumajen stepping towards her. Then a caw. "Hoole! Come here! There's an owl here!"

_Hoole!_

"Come on out, you don't have to be scared." Strix Strumajen spoke soothingly. _Of course!_ Lutta had forgotten that she was still in the form of a Great Gray. Slowly she inched forward, not once looking into Strix Strumajen's face.

A sound came closer. Beating wings, talons clicking on the ground. A new voice. "An owl? Where did she come from?" Unmistakably Hoole! Lutta felt something twinge inside of her – a gizzard?

"I don't know, she hasn't spoken yet."

"She's wet." Lutta tensed. Emerilla! She itched to lash out with her talons at the Spotted Owl. "Bet she got blown here in a storm or something. I'm surprised the weather chaw didn't find her, with all of the storm watching that they're doing."

"Yes." That was Hoole. "Let's try to get her to the Tree. Jyilen can help her." The young king stepped towards Lutta. "Hi, we can help you. Where are you from? Are you hurt?"

Lutta's wing stung slightly, but not much. She shook her head. "I'm – I'm from… um…where am I now?" She stalled for time. Where could say she was from?

"The Great Ga'Hoole Tree!" exclaimed Emerilla proudly. "All owls are safe here."

"Safe," Lutta echoed. "I haven't heard of it."

"It's fairly new, but all owls are welcome here. The Tree grew really fast once it was a sprout. That's why it's so big although it's young."

"Oh."

"So, where_ are_ you from?" asked Strix Strumajen.

"I'm from… from… Tygreth." Lutta made up a random name.

The three owls stared at her. "Where?"

"It's part of the Southern Kingdoms – really far south. At the bottom."

"Oh. Okay." They seemed to accept this. "How did you get to be here?"

_Racdrops._ "Er… I was flying a message to a member of my family who lives close to the Ice Narrows. But when I got there, she was gone. So I was flying back home, but a storm came and I got blown off course. I landed in the water. When I woke up, I was here, and owls were flying overhead. I was scared, so I hid under here." _There. I deserve an award for that. I should become a gadfeather or something._

"Do you want to go back home?" asked Hoole. "I can get some owls to help you to get there."

"No, it's fine. I… um… well, my family is moving to another part of the Southern Kingdoms. I'm not sure where. They won't wait for me, so I won't be able to find them again." Lutta rustled her feathers.

"That's so sad," hooted Emerilla gently. "They should wait for you."

"Yes, yes," Lutta stammered. She tried her best to look depressed.

"You can stay at the Ga'hoole Tree for as long as you want," promised Hoole. "You can even live here. I'll find which chaw to put you in."

"Chaw?" Lutta repeated the strange word.

"Class. So you can develop your skills."

"Okay." Lutta stumbled forward, carefully avoiding Strix Strumajen's gaze, as well as Emerilla's. "I'll stay here."

Hoole smiled. "Good." He turned to Emerilla. Tell Jyilen that a new owl is here." He looked back at Lutta. "What's your name?"

"Lut – um, Thyme. My name is Thyme."

"All right, Thyme. Jyilen is a healer. He can help you calm down." Hoole guided her from the bush shelter. "Over this way."

"Come on," Strix Strumajen hooted. Her voice was kind. Lutta glared at her when she wasn't looking. No doubt if she revealed who she really was the Spotted Owl would be on her in a heartbeat with talons extended. Shrugging, she followed the owls to the Great Ga'Hoole Tree. _If you knew. If only you knew…_


	5. In the Tree

Lutta woke in a large hollow filled with mossy nests. A Sooty Owl was standing over her with a bundle of leaves in his talons. "You're awake," he said.

"Yes." The Great Gray sat up, stretching her wings. "You're Jyilen?" She had fallen asleep in the hollow before the healer had come in. "What time is it?"

"First Lavender. You've rested for the whole day as well as part of last night." The Sooty offered her a sweet-scented leaf. "Here – it will give you strength. You're pretty weak after being caught in the storm."

"Oh. Thanks." Lutta took the leaf thankfully.

"You're Thyme, right?"

"Hm? Oh, right. Yes." The shapeshifter glanced around the hollow. There were no other owls that the healer needed to take care of, and she felt suddenly alone. "Can I fly around a bit once the sun goes all the way down?"

Jyilen thought for moment. "I guess so. Just be sure to come back here if you start feeling sick." He watched her for a moment. "In fact, I think that you're strong enough to sleep in a regular hollow now. You can start training with the chaws soon, and get put into one."

"Okay. Thank you." Lutta stood as the owl moved away and left the healing hollow. She spread her wings and flapped across the room to a space in the wall, the tree trunk, to watch the sky. The subtle colors of lavender were fading into a rich blue, and the stars were starting to appear in the sky.

Abruptly a loud voice called out with ringing tones, making her jump.

_Day is done _

_Wake and fly_

_In the time of night._

_Rise and soar, _

_As sun fades away,_

_To starlight._

_Stretch your wings_

_In your gizzard_

_Know you're free._

_For we are strong_

_We are of the _

_Great Ga'Hoole Tree!_

Lutta peered though the space again as a rustling filled the tree. The sky was dark now, and she saw owls soaring through the night. They wheeled around a few times, then turned back to the tree and landed in a hollow above the infirmary.

Jyilen returned. "The Snow Rose is a fabulous singer, isn't she? She's the owl who sings to wake us and tell us when it's day." He rustled his wings. "You can go eat tweener now." He saw Lutta's blank look. "You know, the meal between day and total night."

Lutta dipped her head and followed him out of the hollow.

The Sooty led her to a giant space with owls inside. Long snakes were stretched out with the owls crowded around them, and on their backs were bowls of food. Jyilen explained about the snakes.

"They're the nest maid snakes, see. They keep the hollows clean and also become the tables. They're blind, too."

Lutta blinked in surprise. She glanced around the room and spotted Hoole, Emerilla and Strix Strumajen sitting with some other owls. Jyilen directed Lutta to them.

"You're feeling better now, then?" asked Emerilla.

"Yes." Lutta tried not to act any differently to the Spotted Owl than she would to a normal owl. "Thank you for letting me stay here."

"It's nothing," replied Hoole. "All owls are welcome here."

_What about a half-owl half-hagsfiend monster?_ "Jyilen said I was going to stay in a hollow with other owls?"

Hoole nodded. "Yes. Two others. After tweener you will practice being in different chaws, to get experience in all of them. After you have practiced for a while, your rybs – teachers – will decide which chaw you'll be in permanently." He gestured with his wings to the other owls around him. "These are the other rybs. I'm the ryb of colliering, getting embers for the smith-owls, and weather. More chaws are navigation, search-and-rescue, tracking, and other things."

"Interesting," Lutta said.

Hoole nodded. "Now, go eat. The two owls you'll nest with are at that table. Their names are Skreel and Thorn." He pointed to a nest maid snake with five owls gathered around her. "Remember to meet for chaw practices after tweener."

Lutta dipped her head and moved over to the table. Her head was buzzing just from hearing Hoole speak about the amazing tree and the wonderful things the owls did.

She had already made up her mind to get into the colliering and weather chaw.


	6. What! from Lutta

Skreel shifted in the moss as the sky outside the hollow darkened. The head of the Barn Owl in the shadowy corner of the den snapped around at the faint sound. Quickly the owl lifted its wings and swooped back to an empty spot in the moss. As it landed, the pale feathers on its body changed to a deep gray, until instead of a Barn Owl there was a Great Gray.

Just as she stilled to feign sleep, Skreel twitched and blinked his eyes open. The Screech Owl rustled his feathers and hopped to the edge of the hollow. He _whoo_ed softly and soared off into the sky.

_Glaux, that was close,_ thought Lutta. She had forgotten that it was nearly tweener. The shapeshifter practiced turning into different types of owls while Skreel and Thorn were resting, but she sometimes forgot to check the color of the sky. _One night some owl will see you… _whispered a voice in the back of her mind, but she shut it out. _Every owl thinks I'm dead_, Lutta told herself bitterly. _I never thought that would be a good thing._

She stretched her large wings tiredly as a small shape on the other side of the hollow jerked and looked up. Thorn, a Pygmy Owl, stood sleepily. "Hi, Thyme," she mumbled. "It's twilight already?"

"Yes." Lutta dipped her head. "The Snow Rose'll sing soon. Skreel already woke."

"I'm going to fly around, then," said Thorn, spreading her wings. In a moment the tiny owl had flown into the dusk.

Lutta sighed and stared up at the sky. All the other young owls were happy here. She wasn't. She couldn't belong anywhere. Angrily she kicked a pile of moss.

Just then the Snow Rose's voice echoed through the tree. It was the same song that the Snowy Owl had sung when Lutta had first arrived at the Tree four nights before.

_Day is done _

_Wake and fly_

_In the time of night._

_Rise and soar, _

_As sun fades away,_

_To starlight._

_Stretch your wings_

_In your gizzard_

_Know you're free._

_For we are strong_

_We are of the _

_Great Ga'Hoole Tree!_

Outside stars were beginning to appear in the sky. Lutta shrugged and jumped out of the hollow, catching a breeze. She rose higher on the draft and wheeled around to face the Ga'Hoole Tree.

The other owls were landing in the space used for meals. Lutta followed Thorn to a nest-maid snake with three other owls around her. The Great Gray perched next to the Pygmy Owl, and Skreel sat at the other side of the table. The other three owls were named Oki, Raptor and Cyrum. Lutta had learned this the night after she had come to the Tree.

Raptor, a Great Horned Owl with unusually long talons, shifted from foot to foot excitedly as he pecked at a milkberry. "Did you hear? Did you hear?"

"What?" demanded Skreel. He blinked his large eyes at the other owl.

"Hoole's so happy," murmured Raptor. "So's Emerilla."

Lutta felt her feathers change color slightly, becoming just a shade darker. Luckily no owl noticed as she regained control over herself. "Well, Emerilla can go to Hagsmire," the shapeshifter muttered to herself once she was sure that the others wouldn't hear.

"Just tell us what the frink it is!" snapped Oki. The owls flinched; one of the things that Lutta had found out was that Oki used swear words freely, and the Ruby Owl had a voice twice her size.

"It's finally happened!" said Raptor. He wasn't very good at listening to others.

"What is it?" growled Cyrum.

The Great Horned Owl looked up, his eyes wide. "Emerilla's going to have an egg!"

"_What?_"

The table fell silent. Lutta had knocked her milkberry off the nest-maid snake. She wilfed, her feathers lying flat against her body. Suddenly they poofed up again. "An _egg?_"

"I know!" whooed Raptor. "Isn't it great?"

"Glaux," squeaked Lutta. _Not Emerilla… _She sat down heavily, concentrating very hard on not releasing her anger and turning into some huge monster bird. "Oh, Glaux."

**Ha ha! An egg! Yep, Emerilla's having an egg! This is going to be really crazy! Poor Lutta.**


	7. Um Short Chapter

**Darn! I just realized that I can't kill Emerilla off because she and Hoole are talking in the last chapter of To Be a King when they're old! Grr………**

"I hate Ga'Hoolology," whispered Thorn. "It's so boring."

Lutta glanced at the Pygmy Owl as Dawn, the Ga'Hoolology ryb, droned on about the importance of giving the Tree nutrients. It was only her second day practicing in the class, and she was bored out of her mind. "I know," she muttered back. "I hope I don't get tapped for it."

All the young owls talked about now was the tapping. That was when they would all find out which chaw they would permanently be in. Thorn wanted to be in navigation, and Skreel wanted to get tapped for search-and-rescue. Lutta still desperately wanted to be in Hoole's double chaw, colliering and weather.

The shapeshifter was thinking so hard that she jumped when Dawn finally said, "That is the end of this Ga'Hoolology class. I hope you have all learned something tonight." She hadn't even gotten to the word 'class' when owls started spreading their wings and flying away gratefully.

Thorn sighed in relief and leaped into the air. Her wings caught an air current and she rose into the sky. "Come on, Thyme!"

Lutta watched the Pygmy Owl for a moment more, then followed her into the night sky. Wheeling around, then flapping her wings, she caught up with Thorn and soared beside her.

"Um… Raptor said that Emerilla was going to have an egg. Remember, at tweener tonight?" She flinched with disgust. _How could Hoole…? Emerilla! That freak!_

Thorn didn't notice the Great Gray's movement. "Yeah, tomorrow, I think."

"Oh, Glaux," muttered Lutta, struggling to make her feathers stay ash colored.

"It's great, huh? The chick can be heir so when Hoole dies there will still be a king!"

_Yeah, great. _"What about the ember? When Hoole dies, doesn't he have to bring it back to the volcano place?"

Thorn shrugged. "How would I know? I'm not even in a chaw; the older owls won't tell me anything!"

Lutta said nothing. Instead she beat her wings and flew onto a draft. Effortlessly she sailed above the sea that was all around the Ga'Hoole Tree. Looking down, she saw Strix Strumajen leading a navigation practice chaw, showing the young owls the constellations. The shapeshifter itched to dive down and rake her talons across the Spotted Owl's ugly face. But then Hoole would drive her out… where would she go?

Luckily, before she could do anything drastic, a loud _whooooo_ caught Lutta's attention. All the owls in free flight swerved around towards the Tree. _Is it the next meal already? _Lutta thought, surprised._ Dawn's chaw took longer than I thought!_

Thorn called to her. "Thyme! Emerilla had an egg! _Just now!_" She was diving and soaring through the air in excitement.

Lutta felt her beak drop open and nearly went yeep just as she reached the entrance to the hollow in the Ga'Hoole Tree. Feeling her head spin, she lighted on a branch shakily. Owls were moving to the other side of the room where Hoole sat cheerfully. Emerilla wasn't there, but of course she was probably in the healer's hollow with her egg. Lutta reeled back in disgust.

"There's Skreel and Raptor and Oki!" said Thorn. "Let's go over there." The Pygmy Owl flapped her small wings. Much less enthusiastically Lutta followed her.

**Ugh... sorry for the shortness... the next chapter will be longer, it's from Hoole's POV instead of Lutta's.**


	8. Hoole's POV

Hoole smiled at all the owls crowding around him. Joy was bubbling inside of him, and he felt hyper. _Emerilla had an egg! The next king of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree!_ Looking around, he saw one owl who was sitting a ways off, not in the group that was made of every single other owl living in the Tree. To his surprise the young Spotted Owl recognized the Great Gray as Thyme.

After a little while the other owls began to disperse. Hoole shifted impatiently from foot to foot, looking for a chance to get away from the crowd and go see Emerilla. Suddenly an image flashed into his mind of two Emerillas staring at him, unblinking. Hoole shuddered. That memory was from moons ago, after the battle in northern lands. One of the Spotted Owls had really been a treacherous shapeshifter that Kreeth, a hagsfiend that delved in nachtmagen, had sent to kill him. Shaking his head, Hoole pushed those thoughts away.

Finally all the owls in the Tree were in groups talking or flying in the little while left before mealtime. Except for the Great Gray. She was sitting on a low hanging branch outside sadly.

Hoole flew over to her. "You okay?"

Thyme jumped, then reeled back, her feathers poofing up. "Wha-? Oh… yes… I'm fine." Her eyes flicked back and forth.

Hoole blinked, concerned. "Do you not like the Tree? You can leave if you want to."

"No… it's fine." She turned away. "I didn't think it had been so long that…" She sighed. "Never mind."

"Really, what is it?"

"Emerilla had an _egg_!" Thyme burst out with more ferocity than Hoole expected. He ruffled his wings. "With you!" She turned sharply so he couldn't see her face.

"But the chick will be the king of the great Ga'Hoole Tree," Hoole told her, confused. "That's good."

Suddenly Thyme looked back at him. Hoole blinked as her wide eyes seemed to blaze yellow-gold, stunning him momentarily. He stepped back.

The Great Gray wilfed. "I can't stay here… but I want to… so much…" She noticed Hoole's paralyzed look. "What is it?"

He shook himself. "You reminded me of some owl from a while ago. In the Northern Kingdoms."

Thyme tensed. "An… owl? Which one?"

"Not really an owl. A shapeshifter. Some evil hagsfiend named Kreeth created her to spy on the Tree… and to kill me."

Thyme looked up, like she was about to protest, then stopped.

Hoole continued. "I met her again in the Ice Narrows after the battle. She was pretending to be Emerilla. Luckily Strix Strumajen, Emerilla's mother, killed her before she could do anything bad."

"You don't say," the Great Gray muttered under her breath. Hoole blinked. He guessed that he was not supposed to hear that, and it confused him. How would this owl from the very southern tip of southlands know anything about the deception and battle in the Northern Kingdoms?

"She turned into Emerilla to trick me. She wanted the ember… except that she said that' it wasn't the ember she wanted'." Hoole ruffled his wings. "Of course she was lying. She was a hagsfiend, really."

"I'm sure Lutta sees it that way," Thyme told him dryly. "Well, thanks. Everything's fine. I'm going to stay at the Tree, don't worry." With an air of a hurt owl she lifted her wings and flew off towards the hollow where her den with Skreel and Thorn was. Hoole cocked his head to one side. _She's a strange owl, to be sure… but why does the memory of Lutta keep going back into my head? She's dead and gone for sure. I saw Strix Strumajen defeat her._ A flashback swept into his mind.

_He opened his eyes. A dark crow-like body was lying on the ice. A Spotted Owl was bending over the shape. "I had to kill her. She pretended to be my Emerilla."_

_Hoole bent over the shapeshifter. She stared up at him with dimming eyes, then reached up with a talon. Hoole stepped back, bringing the ember out of her reach._

"_No Hoole, it was not the ember I wanted." Lutta's eyes closed._

"_To hagmire," muttered Strix Strumajen._

Hoole sighed. At least all that was over. Shrugging, he lifted his wings. Now he would go to see Emerilla.

As the Spotted Owl took flight, a thought popped into his head. _How did Thyme know Lutta's name? I didn't tell her. _


	9. HAHAHAHAHA, Strix Strumajen!

**All the other people who hate Strix Strumajen, this chapter is for you! -evil grin-**

"And that constellation there is the Golden Talons."

The Spotted Owl pointed with a wingtip towards the sky. All the other owls stared up at the cluster of bright stars, eyes wide. "Try to trace them with your wing," Strix Strumajen suggested.

_Right,_ Lutta thought sarcastically as she followed the group higher into the air. She beat her large smoky colored wings and swooped over the others, ignoring Strix Strumajen's instructions.

"_Very_ good, Emerilla," came the irritating whoo. "Everyone, watch how Emerilla does it."

Lutta glared defiantly at the two Spotted Owls as Emerilla soared up and outlined the shape of the Golden Talons. Strix Strumajen murmured approval, then blinked and glanced at the horizon. "Chaw practice is over, it's time for free flight!"

Lutta breathed a sigh a relief and broke away from the group. Quickly the other young owls flapped off, hunting or diving over the sea. Lutta was about to fly into the undergrowth to try shapeshifting in secret like she always did when a brown and white shape caught her eye. She wheeled around to see the dappled form of Emerilla flying over to Hoole, who was just returning with the colliering chaw. A pang a jealousy pierced her heart. Emerilla had laid her egg the night before, and now she was always with the egg, Hoole or Strix Strumajen.

"You feeling okay, Thyme?"

Lutta whirled around to see Strix Strumajen flying calmly toward her, and her wings quivered. "I'm fine," she snapped.

"You look sad," the older owl remarked. "Are you sure you're okay?"

Lutta nodded vigorously and turned away sharply. She opened her beak to speak, but suddenly she felt like she was overflowing. She nearly went yeep and she spiraled down to the ground, collapsing under a bush.

"Thyme?"

Lutta hid her head underneath her wings. "It's all so unfair!" she wailed. "Everyone hates me!"

"What are you talking about?" Strix Strumajen asked. "They don't hate you!"

"No… where I was… before." Lutta watched the Spotted Owl warily.

"Oh." Strix Strumajen was silent for a minute. "Bad stuff has happened to me, too. It happens to every owl."

"Yeah… but some owls tried to kill me." Lutta turned away. You_ tried to kill me,_ she thought mockingly.

"Oh, that's bad!" Strix Strumajen looked appalled. "You know, that same thing happened to King Hoole after the battle in N'yrthghar… but you wouldn't know about _that_."

"I do know about it!" Lutta protested.

Strix Strumajen stared at her. "But you're much too young-"

"Oh…" Lutta realized her mistake. "I mean, while I was flying here I met some owls who said they'd been in the battle."

"Really? They were that far south?"

"Um… yeah."

Strix Strumajen shrugged. "Anyway, some hagsfiend named Kreeth created a creature named Lutta to kill Hoole."

Lutta felt her feathers tingle. "Oh, really?" Her anger boiled up inside of her again.

"Yes," whooed Strix Strumajen, shaking her head at the unfairness of it all. "She pretending to be my Emerilla. I had to kill her." She sniffed, hurt.

"Stop it!" screeched Lutta, whipping her talons out. The Spotted Owl blinked and stepped back, too late. The claws hit her face and red blood spurted out. She squawked in pain and confusion.

"Thyme! What are you doing?"

"Stop it!" Lutta yelled again, without caring if any owl heard her. "It wasn't my fault! Kreeth made me do it!"

Strix Strumajen's eyes widened. "Kreeth? But-"

Lutta's eyes blazed with fury, and she stopped trying to hold her shape. Her gray feathers darkened and became black, and her eyes turned a brighter shade of yellow. The shapeshifter rose her wings as they became ragged and pointed.

Strix Strumajen backed up. "No! Not you!" Her face showed recognition.

Lutta hissed at her, now in the form of a fully grown hagsfiend. "Yes!" Just to spite the owl, she shrank back and became a small Spotted Owl. In a heartbeat she was the image of Emerilla.

"No!" cried the navigation ryb. "I – I _killed_ you!" She watched with horror as the owl she had known as Thyme became a crow-like creature once again.

"You didn't!" screamed Lutta. "You thought you did, but you didn't! I have a gizzard! I can love!" She lunged forward as she extended her talons, feeling them slash through feathers and skin. Strix Strumajen shrieked and slipped on a pool of her blood. She landed face down with the furious shapeshifter looming over her.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she sobbed. "I didn't think-"

"Well maybe you should have considered everything before you tried to kill me!" Lutta yelled. Her eyes gleamed yellow with the fyngrot.

"No!" Strix Strumajen whimpered again, then Lutta's talons ripped through her throat. She blinked in shock and agony as scarlet welled up and stained her feathers red. The Spotted Owl gave a hideous gurgle, then fell still.

Lutta stared down at the ryb's body, the owl that had left her for dead in N'yrthghar. Suddenly she heard the flapping of wings and she spun around, terrified. Her hagsfiend form melted away, replaced by the storm colored shape of a Great Gray.

Hoole and Emerilla lighted just behind her. "What's going on? We heard screams-"

"Oh, Glaux!" wailed Emerilla, suddenly realized what the red and brown shape in the undergrowth was. "Hoole! It's my mother! It's Strix Strumajen!" She ran over to the motionless body. "No! No!" Her cries brought the other owls, and they swooped from the sky to see what the commotion was about. As they understood that the navigation ryb was dead, they huddled together in groups and whispered.

Lutta shrugged.

Hoole stared at her. "What happened?" he demanded, his eyes pools of sadness.

The shapeshifter turned and looked straight at him. "I don't know, Hoole. I found her lying under the bushes. She was already dead when I got here."


	10. Mirror Lakes

**okay, since almost everyone was angry about me killing off Strix Strumajen, let me explain why. I don't think that Lutta was about to forgive the owl who tried to murder her for no reason, and she felt threatened because Strix Strumajen was talking about how she 'had' to kill her. Basically I think that Lutta really would have killed Strix Strumajen. **

Lutta opened her eyes as moonlight trickled between the Ga'Hoole Tree's branches. She closed them again. _No… I don't want to get up…_

"Thyme?" Thorn's voice whispered.

"What?"

"We were supposed to have Strumajen's chaw today. Who's going to teach us?"

Lutta stiffened. It had been two days since Hoole had found the Spotted Owl's body, and no ryb had taken her place yet. "I-I don't know." Secretly she was pleased that Strix Strumajen was dead, but Emerilla was unhappy, so Hoole was unhappy, which made _her_ unhappy. And she had to tell _someone_ about who she really was, because she felt like she was overflowing. The shapeshifter thought that she would burst at any heartbeat from all the secrets she was keeping inside of her.

The Snow Rose's voice rang out as the last hints of the sun disappeared over the horizon. Lutta rose sleepily from her nest as Skreel moaned.

"Today's the tapping," she hooted.

"What?!" Skreel jumped up, staring around with wide eyes.

Lutta churred, and suddenly a strange feeling swept over her. A gizzard? She could laugh…

Skreel blinked. "Are you just kidding?"

"No. It really is the tapping. But it was fun to see your expression."

The owl _whoo_ed in exasperation. Thorn churred along with the Great Gray. "Come on, tweener is starting!" The tiny owl flapped her wings and lifted off. She soared out of the hollow and into the sky.

Lutta followed her, feeling a wind current lift her up as she swooped around. Thorn lighted on a branch, waiting for Skreel to catch up. "Hurry, you're slower than a snail!"

He groaned and soared from the hollow. The three owls flew over to the dining space where the nest maids were just slithering into place. Oki and Raptor were already at the place where the three owls usually sat, and Thorn hurried over to them.

"I can't wait until the tapping!" she told them excitedly.

Raptor nodded. "I hope, really _really_ hope, that I get into search and rescue."

Lutta stayed silent, although she desperately wanted to be in Hoole's chaw. Thinking of the Spotted Owl suddenly made her feel about to burst again.

"Thyme?" The nest maid snake twisted her head around, her sightless face turned towards the gray-feathered owl. "Are you okay?" she asked in her rasping hiss.

Lutta flinched. "Yes… look, I'm not that hungry… I'm just going to fly around a bit I guess…" She darted away before the other owls could ask any questions.

Outside the night was calm. No owls were out flying yet. Lutta pushed her wings up and down hard and soared up, to the very top of the Tree. The milkberries glistened around her as she landed on a twisted limb. Her wings drooped at her sides.

"Who am I kidding?" she yelled at herself. "I'll never be anything! Ever! I am _nothing_!" She stared up at the stars. They were silent. "Everyone hates me! Ygryk and Pleek abandoned me!"

"Thyme?"

Lutta froze, and she wilfed, shrinking back, as a young Spotted Owl stared up from the roots of the Tree at her. "No. No, no…" she whispered as Hoole flew towards her, landing nearby. She wanted to be alone, and she knew she would lose control and morph into a hagsfiend or something. Even if it was Hoole she was talking to. _Especially if it's Hoole._

"Thyme? Why aren't you eating with the others?"

"Why aren't _you_?" she shot back, careful not to look at him.

Hoole blinked and took a step away. "You're just so distracted ever since-."

"Strix Strumajen was killed."

He flinched. "Yes."

Lutta turned to face him. "Hoole. Can I show you something?"

The Spotted Owl looked confused. "What?"

"Please. I-I have to tell _someone."_ The shapeshifter felt her form waver, almost changing from a Great Gray into something else. Luckily Hoole didn't notice.

"Um… okay…" Hoole glanced around.

Lutta opened her wings and jumped from the tree branch. "Follow me."

"Why?" Hoole hesitated. He looked nervous.

"Please." Lutta wheeled around to face him. Her yellow eyes were wide, maybe too yellow for a Great Gray, and more like a hagsfiend…

The owl who was the king of the Great Ga'Hoole Tree blinked, a distant memory forming in his mind. "Okay," he _whoo_ed, and lifted from the limb.

Lutta sighed with relief and dread mixed together. _No going back now._ She started flying to the south, to a place she had found while exploring. Hoole soared behind her, wondering what she was doing by the expression on his face.

A glint of reflected moonlight told Lutta that she had found the place. She spiraled down slowly and heard Hoole gasp. "What's that?"

A huge lake was in front of them. As Lutta swooped lower she could see every detail from the reflection in the crystal clear water.

"They're like mirrors!" Hoole exclaimed, diving down to see his image on the surface.

Lutta nodded. "I know." She flew to the water's edge, landing on the soft sandy ground. Her talons scraped the earth as she stared at her reflection. _Who am I really?_ she wondered.

Hoole alighted on the shore. "Is this what you wanted to show me?" he asked, staring across the lake. "The… Mirror Lakes… yes…"

The shapeshifter shook her head. "Look into the water."

Hoole blinked at her, then stared into the depths of the lake. "Why?"

Lutta stepped up behind him. For a moment the image of a Spotted Owl and Great Gray shone up at them. Suddenly, slowly at first, then faster, the storm-colored owl shrank back, melting in on itself.

Hoole gasped and whirled around. Lutta flinched, her transformation quickening. Then instead of a Great Gray standing in front of him there was a Barn Owl.

"You!" Hoole hissed, his eyes glittering with recognition. He lashed out with a wing and threw Lutta back. She landed on twisted roots, beneath one of the many trees around the lake.

"You!" The king yelled again. "You tried to kill me! You tried to steal the ember! How did you- Strix Strumajen killed you! And now you're back!" He raised a talon and it glinted in the moonlight.

"No," Lutta whispered.

The quiet word echoed in the night. Hoole froze. "What?"

"No," she repeated. "I didn't want kill to. And I didn't want the ember. Kreeth did." She blinked up at him. "Kill me if you wish. I don't care. Everyone hates me, and you do too. There's nothing left for me here."

The Spotted Owl narrowed his eyes. They were deep pools of distrust and confusion as he glared at the shapeshifter. Slowly he lowered his talon. "Then why did you attack me?" he demanded.

"I slipped. The floor was made of ice, for Glaux's sake." Lutta closed her eyes, expecting to feel talons rip at her throat. _And then I'll go to Hagsmire… like Strix Strumajen wanted._

"Why'd you reach for the ember if you didn't want it?" asked Hoole. His voice was edged with anger, but not pure hate like before.

"I told you," Lutta said. "It wasn't the ember I wanted."

The Spotted Owl cocked his head to one side. "I don't understand."

"That's fine."

Hoole looked confused, but he said nothing. "What did you want?"

The Barn Owl glanced away. She didn't answer. Then tentatively Lutta spoke. "Are you going to exile me?" She tensed. Of course he would. _So now I'll be on my own again…_she thought bitterly.

Hoole hesitated, then took a deep breath. "No."

"You- you're not?" Lutta blinked.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Glaux, do you want to be exiled?" Hoole turned to her sadly and Lutta realized how hard it was for him to forgive her and let her stay at the Tree. He wanted to drive her away for what had happened in the Northern Kingdoms, but the hate he felt had diminished enough to make him have second thoughts.

_Please understand,_ Lutta willed him. _Please… _

"Why did you follow Kreeth's orders?" Didn't you know she was evil?"

Lutta stood up slowly. "Of course not, not until the battle. Pleek and Ygryk abandoned me. Kreeth raised me. I thought what she was doing was right."

Hoole narrowed his eyes. "Then why did you disobey her at the battle?"

The Barn Owl wilfed. She looked away, the dull ache inside of what could have been her gizzard becoming a painful throb. It hurt more than she could have imagined. "I can't tell you… you wouldn't believe me anyway."

Hoole seemed almost hurt. Then he looked up at the horizon. "We should get back to the Ga'hoole Tree," he said quietly. "Chaws are about to start." Lutta nodded mutely. "Come on."

He lifted his wings and jumped up, catching an air currant and soaring over the lake. Lutta watched him for a moment, then started flying as well. She stared down at her reflection miserably, almost wishing that she hadn't let Hoole know who she really was.

With an aching gizzard the shapeshifter swooped back towards the Tree as the stars shone coldly above her.


End file.
